Black and Blue
by Hannah the Fly
Summary: My version of post-GOF Hogwarts, where Cho and Snape get together after finding that they have a lot in common. Rating for some sexual references. Please RR - my first published fanfic!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: The usual. None of the characters are mine, their all JK Rowling's, but I'm not using them for profit, so it's all ok. I've been getting some strange reactions about my pairing, but oh well. I find it easy to write about these two.  
  
Fic starts here:  
  
It was only Cho's first Quidditch practise for the year, but already she could feel the pain in her arm again. She'd have to sort that out after the game. Still, at least I'm here at all, she thought. She had nearly opted out of this session through a fear of being overpowered by memories of Cedric, but the looks on the faces of her teammates caused her to change her mind. Now, she was back to flying once again, getting used to her Comet 260 after abandoning it, along with thoughts of Cedric, during the summer.  
  
"Cho!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"I'm letting the snitch out!"  
  
"Alright!"  
  
It may not be the best thing for her arm, but putting all her energy into catching the snitch was definitely helpful to Cho's mind.  
  
*****  
  
The shouts from the Quidditch pitch intermingled with the scratching of the quill on the parchment and caused the throb in Severus' head to become even more painful. He supposed he could make a potion to stop it, but since Dumbledore's request earlier that year, his mind had been elsewhere from his teaching and potions, which suffered terribly as a result. He put down his marking, stood up from the desk and massaged his aching temples. Although he hadn't returned to Them yet, his headaches were becoming uncomfortably similar to those he had experienced fifteen years ago. He hoped that history wouldn't repeat itself. He wasn't sure if he could survive it a second time.  
  
*****  
  
"Madame Pomfrey?"  
  
"Cho?"  
  
"It's my arm again"  
  
The same sigh and half-raised-eyebrow look, as though nothing had changed from this time last year. She was never sure if Madame Pomfrey fully believed her when she said her arm ached like hell.  
  
"Well, what's to be done, Cho?  
  
"I don't know. It seems like I've tried everything, but it still gives me trouble."  
  
"Torn ligaments are always difficult. Perhaps we could try a potion instead of a spell."  
  
Madame Pomfrey walked over to a self that covered one of the walls and removed a thick yellow volume, which she flicked through.  
  
"We could try this one. I think it could work, but it looks complicated. I'll fix up your arm as best as I can now, and if you come to me in two days, this potion will be ready. It says it can be a permanent cure if done properly."  
  
"Thankyou." Well, whether Madame Pomfrey really believed her or not, she was helpful.  
  
*****  
  
Severus had never fully realised how time consuming being a potions master was until now, when he had his mind elsewhere. Perhaps that was why he had remained on the staff for all these years. Now, however, Hogwart's was just an inconvenience. He had to make a potion for some foolish student, no doubt attempting some death defying feat on a broomstick. He grabbed a handful of ground unicorn horns from his cabinet and slammed the door behind, which promptly smashed and sent glass flying in all directions. Swearing loudly, he examined a cut on his hand and removed a piece of glass from it. It didn't seem too bad. After all, he'd had worse.  
  
"Reparo," he muttered. As he stuck the sleeve of his robes over the cut, he thought that perhaps making the potion would be a worthwhile task after all. At least it would take his mind off things.  
  
*****  
  
At least Quidditch took her mind off things. Cho sighed as she attempted to draw on her arithmancy chart with a sore hand. Was it really only a few months ago that she and Cedric had joked that you could read the charts upside down and it would make no difference? It was, though she couldn't believe it. She glanced at Maggie, curled up on her bed, oblivious to the troubles of the world. Cho reached out to stroke the black cat, but recoiled as she felt a fresh stab of pain. That potion could not be ready too soon. 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: The usual. None of the characters are mine, their all JK Rowling's, but I'm not using them for profit, so it's all ok. I've been getting some strange reactions about my pairing, but oh well. I find it easy to write about these two.  
  
Fic starts here:  
  
"How's the potion, Madame Pomfrey?"  
  
"It's ready. I had some help with Professor Snape from it, though. I must admit, I was never one for potions myself. He said it may leave you feeling nauseous for a few minutes, though, so I suggest you drink it here and sit down until you feel well enough to go."  
  
"Thankyou."  
  
*****  
  
Damn that cut. It hadn't healed properly. As much as he hated the hospital wing (it made him feel like a helpless child again), he would have to go and get something for his hand.  
  
*****  
  
Cho drank a mouthful of potion and gagged.  
  
"Should it taste like poison?"  
  
"Just drink it, Miss Chang. I assure you that it will do you good." Hesitating, she took another gulp and swallowed. It happened suddenly, but the pain was still unbearable - her arm turned a dark, angry red and she started to scream from the pain.  
  
"Miss Chang!"  
  
"The potion! What did he put in it?" Clutching her arm, she leant back and moaned.  
  
"Ah. Poppy. Killing another student, I see. Have you got anything for this cut?" An angry glare told Severus that he should shut his mouth immediately. Madame Pomfrey looked as though she was going to do what many of her patients had done and start steaming from the ears.  
  
"This student has just drunk a potion of yours, Severus! It amazes me that a man of you supposed intelligence can be foolish enough to neglect a potion. We're lucky she wasn't poisoned. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to find something that will stop her from feeling as though her arm is on fire!" With that, Madame Pomfrey stormed out of the room.  
  
"What did you do, spit in it?"  
  
"I beg your pardon, Miss Chang?" That voice at any other time would have set off warning bells in Cho's head, but right now she was too angry to care.  
  
"It was a potion fro someone else, wasn't it? Who cares if that person gets poisoned because you neglect it? You don't have to drink it, so it doesn't matter. You are the most selfish and unpleasant person I have ever met."  
  
An ugly silence.  
  
"Twenty points from Ravenclaw and a detention, Chang." For an instant, Cho was covered in black as Snape, too, left the room angrily.  
  
*****  
  
Damn the girl. He wasn't selfish. He had just been distracted, that's all, by more important matters. Curses, what has he done? Given punishment to a student who had spoken out of pain, pain that he had caused. There was nothing else to do but bite the bullet and apologise, that's it. After all, as much as he hated to admit it, he was to blame.  
  
*****  
  
As soon as the pain had passed, Cho wished that she could send a howler to herself. She had just insulted the most dangerous person in the castle. She knew she'd had a reason to be mad, but sure as hell he didn't. She'd blown any chance she had had for a good mark in potions and earning points for Ravenclaw with her big mouth. Now Snape would take point off her and try to fail her at any chance he got. There was nothing else for it - she would have to bite the bullet and apologise. Even though she wasn't to blame. 


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: The usual. None of the characters are mine, their all JK Rowling's, but I'm not using them for profit, so it's all ok. I've been getting some strange reactions about my pairing, but oh well. I find it easy to write about these two.  
  
The following potions lesson, Cho stayed behind in the freezing dungeon. She transferred her weight from hip to hip as Snape took his time clearing up his desk.  
  
"Yes, Miss Chang?" Probably wanting to ask a question. Those Ravenclaws never could keep their mouths shut. Still, at least it gave him an opportunity to apologise.  
  
"Professor, I came to apologise for what I said the other day." He froze. Was the girl trying to force one out of him? He turned around to face her.  
  
"It's funny you should say that, Miss Chang."  
  
"Oh?" She tried not to look away from his eyes, although they were boring into hers, and also, it seemed, her mind.  
  
"Yes. I think you had a point in what you said." (She did?) "I will not give you detention this time, nor will any points be deducted off Ravenclaw considering the circumstances. I would, however, advise you to watch your mouth in the future."  
  
"Thankyou, Professor Snape. Oh, and sir?"  
  
"Yes?" Here comes the question, he thought.  
  
"How's your hand?" A faint smile was appearing at the corner of her mouth.  
  
"As good as can be expected. I trust that your arm is tolerable now?"  
  
"Yes, thankyou Professor." With that, she turned and ran out of the classroom, elated that the discussion she had been dreading had gone so well.  
  
Once she had left, he permitted himself to smile. As he picked up an empty vial, he wondered absentmindedly whether she really had been concerned about his hand. 


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: The usual. None of the characters are mine, their all JK Rowling's, but I'm not using them for profit, so it's all ok. I've been getting some strange reactions about my pairing, but oh well. I find it easy to write about these two.  
  
Step.  
  
Step.  
  
The wet grass soaked the bottom of her robes.  
  
Step.  
  
Step.  
  
Her breath formed a ghostly mist before her face.  
  
Step.  
  
Step.  
  
She saw the shape forming before her again. So familiar, yet so horribly alien.  
  
Step.  
  
Step.  
  
Cedric.  
  
Her steps turned into a desperate run across the quidditch field. The tears on her cheeks chilled her face as they met the icy wind. He was so cold. Those hands that had once caressed her face so lovingly now lying on the grass stiff and abandoned like a piece of driftwood.  
  
Cho woke up.  
  
At least everyone else in the bedroom was asleep this time. It wasn't rare for one or more of the other girls to wake up when they heard Cho having nightmares about Cedric again. Throwing off the bedclothes, she brushed the tears off her face with the back of her hand and walked down the stone steps to the Ravenclaw common room. A walk will make me feel better, she thought, and crossed to the portrait of Gwendolyn the Greedy.  
  
"Butterbeer," she whispered, and the portrait opened. The corridor echoed as she walked down it, silent though she tried to be. Deciding to go to the library to try yet again to find that potion for dreamless sleep, she turned left. To her horror, a figure was standing in the corridor in front of her.  
  
"Who's there?" The figure asked. It wasn't Filch. It was the potions master.  
  
"Professor Snape!"  
  
"Miss Chang!"  
  
"Sir, I'm sorry sir, I couldn't sleep, so I." she trailed off. Dammit. Once again, she has screwed things up for Ravenclaw. She wasn't sure how she could explain her way out of this one.  
  
"How dare you. I thought you were an intelligent student, Chang. You know full well that students are forbidden to walk the corridors at night. You will have to be punished this time, so -"  
  
"I had nightmares!" Anything to avoid getting points deducted.  
  
"Nightmares?"  
  
"About -"  
  
"Cedric." It wasn't a question.  
  
"How did you - "  
  
"You think you are unreadable? You have been radiating grief since the start of the year." A feeling he knew too well. "I saw you with him last year. You were close."  
  
Cho couldn't think of anything to say.  
  
"Let me show you something." As long as it doesn't result in a punishment, Cho thought. Snape turned and led her down the corridor. He opened a wooden door, turned left, then right, and to another door, this time stone, which stood about seven feet high.  
  
"Would you open, please?" The door swung open and the two walked into the room. The door shut of its own accord in a surprisingly quiet manner. Cho looked expectantly around the room, but only saw a puddle of water on the floor.  
  
"What is this?" She asked Snape.  
  
"Professor Dumbledore invented it during the time of He Who Must Not Be Named. It is used as a device to help those in misery. Look into it."  
  
Apprehensive, Cho peered into the puddle. At first, she saw nothing. Then after a few seconds, faces began to form around her! Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, her older brother and her two closest friends, Padma and Marietta. All at once, though she couldn't explain it, Cho felt a deep sense of peace within her, and knew that she could sleep now. She turned around to Snape happily, and he, sensing her questions, spoke.  
  
"When a person looks into it, it shows those living who care about them. The water transfers their love to the viewer, which makes it particularly comforting to those who are in the process of grieving."  
  
"Thankyou Professor. Um - "  
  
"Will I punish you? Not tonight."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
A pause.  
  
"Because I know how you feel." He hoped that she hadn't heard the crack in his voice. "Come here as often as you like. I will make an allowance - Dumbledore will understand." He asked the door to open and left the room quickly before she could see the tears on his cheeks. 


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: The usual. None of the characters are mine, their all JK Rowling's, but I'm not using them for profit, so it's all ok. I've been getting some strange reactions about my pairing, but oh well. I find it easy to write about these two.  
  
"You're joking."  
  
"Snape didn't punish you?"  
  
"No." Cho was beginning to regret telling Padma and Marietta that she had left the Ravenclaw tower the previous night.  
  
"Why? What did you do? Suck him off?"  
  
"Ewww!" The others burst into laughter.  
  
"Don't, guys. Shut up."  
  
"Shh. here he comes." Snape was indeed walking past the Ravenclaw table.  
  
"His eyes are red."  
  
"Are they? Didn't notice."  
  
"You must have been a bad root, Cho." And with that, the other girls burst into laughter which didn't cease until Transfiguration.  
  
*****  
  
As cruel as it may seem, Severus half hoped that Cho would have nightmares again tonight. After waiting by the stone door for two hours, however, he realised that she was not going to arrive, and so asked the door to open. He slowly approached the puddle and peered into it, his face twisted with anxiety and hope. His reflection stared back at him, the surrounding water empty. Angrily, he left the room.  
  
What was he expecting? To see her face staring back at him? He had never realised how foolish he could be sometimes. Still, he did have double potions with the Ravenclaws the next day. Perhaps he could speak to her then when there was nobody else around. 


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: The usual. None of the characters are mine, their all JK Rowling's, but I'm not using them for profit, so it's all ok. I've been getting some strange reactions about my pairing, but oh well. I find it easy to write about these two.  
  
"That will be all for today. In tomorrow's lesson, you will be making this potion, which will then be assessed by me, so I suggest that you all learn the method thoroughly. Miss Chang, will you please stay behind." He hoped that didn't sound too suspicious.  
  
"He's given you a second chance, Cho." Cho attempted to ignore the comments. She just hoped that Snape hadn't heard them.  
  
"Professor?"  
  
"Did you sleep well last night?"  
  
"Reasonably, Professor. Why do you ask?"  
  
"I waited for you." The minute the words came out of his mouth, Severus wished he could have bitten his tongue off.  
  
"Oh." There was an uncomfortable pause.  
  
"No, I mean, don't take that the wrong way. I just thought, well, that you and I are alike in some ways, and I wanted to talk to you because I thought it could help you." Hopefully, it would help him, too.  
  
"You lost someone close to you as well, sir?"  
  
Severus took a deep breath. "I will tell you tonight." 


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: The usual. None of the characters are mine, their all JK Rowling's, but I'm not using them for profit, so it's all ok.  
  
A/N: Thanks for the reviews everyone! I'm glad that most people like the story. I was really scared about publishing it at first, but the feedback has been mainly positive, so I'll try to keep the chapters coming. I'm hoping to get it finished this school holidays, otherwise I'll have no time in which to write. By the way - Randomm, thanks for your queries. If you want to email me, I'd be happy to discuss what you posted in the reviews. Enough from me, however.  
  
Fic starts here:  
  
Cho had never realised how frustrating waiting for her roommates to fall asleep was. After waiting impatiently for an hour and a half, she could have screamed in frustration. Not only was she forced to wait until she could slip out of the room without the others noticing, she wasn't even allowed silence to think about what Snape wished to say that had to wait until tonight. She had admitted to herself that she was indeed dying to know - after all, for five years she had simply assumed that he was merely a shallow man, intent on causing as much discomfort amongst those around him as he could. The past week, however, had shown her a different side of him that she never imagined could exist. Perhaps tonight she would be allowed a further glimpse into what she now realised was an intensely complicated man.  
  
It was past midnight when Cho could at last slip out of bed and into the corridors. Her footsteps echoed around the walls as they had when she had left the Ravenclaw tower previously, and seemed to make her feel more isolated from the world as ever. In all her life, she had never thought that she would be glad to see Snape, but when she asked the door to open and found him waiting for her, she realised that she was genuinely happy to see him.  
  
"Thankyou for coming."  
  
"I think I needed to. What was it you were going to tell me, Professor?"  
  
Those bottomless black eyes bore into hers. "When you look in that water, what do you see?"  
  
"My family. My closest friends. Why? What do you see?"  
  
"Nothing." Cho had difficulty stopping herself from gaping.  
  
"There's nobody who - "  
  
"No." Snape cut her off quickly. "I presume that even you know that affection is not something I am closely associated with." Cho nodded. "It may surprise you to learn, then, that several years ago I was a position not unlike the one you found yourself in last year with Cedric Diggory. I believe you could say that I loved a woman once."  
  
It was difficult to imagine. "What was her name?"  
  
Snape paused. "I am not sure if I should tell you that. Even if I did, I very much doubt you would recognise the name, or that it would be of any consequence."  
  
Cho was intrigued. "So what happened?" Snape thought for a moment, then spoke.  
  
"When He Who Must Not Be Named first came into power, he was highly supported by many of the old wizarding families, mine included. Desperate to please my parents, I rushed to join his supporters, and it was there I met her. I imagine she was very much like myself - a young witch, desperate for approval and in complete acceptance of the idea of keeping magic in pure blood families only. Perhaps that was why I loved her, but all I cared for was that she loved me. I can honestly say that looking back, she was the thing I cared most for in the entire world, and the fact that she felt the same way was almost too much happiness for me." He smiled, permitting himself to remember the way her hair used to feel against his face as they rode on his broomstick together.  
  
"After a time, He Who Must Not Be Named gave us changed his orders to us, demanding that we kill muggles and muggle-borns. It was at that point that she began to question his orders. She was a stubborn woman, prepared to do almost anything for popularity, anything but murder. I warned her not to voice her thoughts. It seemed that even at that point I knew how dangerous expressing your feelings could be. She was so ruthless and headstrong, however, that she told He Who Must Not Be Named himself exactly how she felt, expressing along with that her desire to leave his circle.  
  
"She was the first of the Death Eaters that he killed. Part a warning, part a test to our loyalty, he tortured her for hours before finally killing her. I had to stand there and watch it all happen, not saying a word out of a fear that I, too, would be killed, like the coward that I am. She was begging to die, and he wouldn't - " Snape broke off and took several deep breaths before continuing.  
  
"As I stood there and watched her die, I swore to avenge her by destroying He Who Must Not Be Named. I joined Dumbledore's ranks as a spy, determined to bring down He Who Must Not Be Named from the inside. It has never seemed enough. I should have spoken up when I had the chance - I - " He had to stop. He wouldn't, couldn't break down in front of her. No.  
  
Cho stood dumfounded as the man she once hated bared his soul before her. Finally, she did the only thing that she felt she could do. She crossed over to him and took him in his arms, wishing with all her might that she could take away his pain forever. It didn't surprise her at all to feel his arms curl around her back.  
  
"Severus," she whispered. 


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: The usual. None of the characters are mine, their all JK Rowling's, but I'm not using them for profit, so it's all ok.  
  
A/N: Sorry about the wait everyone. I posted all of the previous chapters in the holidays when I had nothing to do, but now school's back on, so the chapters won't be coming as fast and furious as they once were. I will do my best to keep them coming, but be patient as this story isn't my first priority. Sorry.  
  
Fic starts here:  
  
Severus woke in the morning with his head pounding and his limbs stiff and aching. He groaned and hauled himself out of his bed and staggered to the mirror. The rings around his eyes were so bad that initially he imagined that he had been in one of those muggle fist fights the previous evening, and had somehow forgotten about it. Then he remembered. Damn.  
  
"I'd rather the fight," he mumbled huskily. He dropped to his knees and fumbled about under his bed for a moment before retrieving the bottle of firewhisky that he had become so acquainted with that previous night. He took a long gulp and sat down on the bed, contemplating. He had told too much, he knew that. He recalled drinking to make talking to Chang easier, but he had a feeling that what he had told her he would never have told to anyone whilst sober, with the exception of Dumbledore obviously. He took another swig and closed his eyes. If he thought hard enough, he knew that more would come to mind.  
  
"Severus."  
  
Merlin's beard. That hadn't been a drunken hallucination, surely. There was only one way to find out for certain, he thought with his heart racing. If she had really cared about him last night, there was a way to know -  
  
For many early rising students, the mystery of why Professor Snape was seen scurrying down the corridors at five o'clock on a cold February morning, complete in his faded grey nightshirt, would leave them guessing for the rest of their lives.  
  
"Open - please," he demanded of the stone door. He peered into the puddle, holding his breath in anticipation of what he would see. He was not disappointed. Cho smiled back at him from the water, and his anxiousness and guilt about what he had said the night before began to fade. If he hadn't sworn to himself all those years ago that he would never display his emotions in public, Severus would have laughed out loud on the journey back to his room.  
  
*****  
  
"I love her, Lucius. I don't love anyone but her, and she doesn't love me."  
  
"Really."  
  
"I looked in the water, and I couldn't see her. I can't see anybody."  
  
"The water?"  
  
"You don't know, nobody does. I was with her tonight, but I said stupid things, and now she hates me."  
  
"Surely not."  
  
"Yes. It's not fair, why doesn't she like me? Why?" 


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: The usual. None of the characters are mine, their all JK Rowling's, but I'm not using them for profit, so it's all ok.  
  
Fic starts here:  
  
When Severus entered his classroom several hours later, the third seat from the left in the second row was empty. Cho's seat, he thought worriedly. Had something happened to her? You've already given enough of yourself away, he told himself sternly. He turned to the board and began to write the recipe for sleeping potions in what he hoped was a nonchalant manner.  
  
"Professor Snape?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Cho won't be here today. She's in the hospital wing - I think she's hurt her arm again."  
  
Severus felt a fresh pang of guilt as realised that Cho had never got her potion. He frowned to himself and continued to write on the board.  
  
Why had he fallen for a student? Why did he feel so guilty about causing one person pain, when he had never, since her death, batted an eyelid about hurting somebody else? Because she hit me in a tender spot, he realised. He wasn't selfish, he couldn't bear being told that after saying it to himself for fifteen years. Then there were the similarities between them. He realised that he felt a connection with Cho, a connection he had not felt with another soul for a long time. From what he had seen in the water that morning, it was clear that she was not entirely indifferent to him either. That was it. He would give her the fixed potion that night, and approach her to see whether she really felt the same way. This time, he decided, he would do it sober. The corner of his mouth curling, he turned to face the class and proceeded to discuss sleeping potions.  
  
*****  
  
"Cho?"  
  
"Se - Professor Snape?" He hadn't seemed to have minded the previous night, but she wasn't sure if she was ready to call him by his first name when there was a chance that somebody could hear her.  
  
"Did Madame Pomfrey give you some potion? If not, I brought you some."  
  
"No, she didn't. Thankyou."  
  
"The boomslang skin was not added last time, so I added it to the sample I had left. I promise I won't kill you tonight." He smiled as he handed her the goblet. She drank for it, cautiously at first, then finished the rest of it.  
  
"That makes me feel better already. Thankyou." He didn't reply. "Is something wrong, Professor?"  
  
He turned to face her. "Last night you called me Severus."  
  
"I know. I'm sorry. It seemed - it seemed right at the time."  
  
"Did it?" It was Cho's turn to be silent. "I suppose the reason I was here was because this morning I looked into the water. I saw you in it."  
  
"Professor - I - "  
  
"I'm not trying to make you say or do anything. It's just - " How could he say this? "It made me happy that you cared for me. That's all. Goodnight." He started to leave.  
  
"Professor - Severus." He turned to her. "May I call you Severus?"  
  
"If it makes you happy."  
  
"I do feel something for you. And. I don't want you to leave me alone right now." Of all the people she could have said that to, a week ago she never would have imagined saying it to the greasy potions master. Yet here she was, speaking the truth to him and hoping that he would keep her company for as long as possible.  
  
Severus slowly approached the bed and sat down beside her. He leant over and kissed her softly, realising that this was what he had been yearning for for what had seemed like an eternity. 


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: The usual. None of the characters are mine, their all JK Rowling's, but I'm not using them for profit, so it's all ok.

A/N: *Ducks the flying brick* Sorry about the wait. Exams will be over next week so here's the next chapter, which I wrote between study. Hopefully I'll be able to finish this in the next few weeks. Thanks for being patient. :)

Fic starts here:

"You disgusting bitch. I spend - "

"Shut up, Julius, _shut up_ – just – please - "

"I spend all my time working, _trying_ to make a living for us… _LOOK AT ME WHEN I SPEAK TO YOU_… you pathetic whore… What the hell I saw in ever saw in you I don't know. All I want is a wife who will cook for me when I come home from work, is that so much to ask? And I come home to this… what the hell do you call this? I swear, I would not be surprised if you were trying to poison me. Well? What have you got to say for yourself, _what_?" Daddy started smashing the plates and Mummy just kept crying. Daddy laughed. "That's right, just stand there and cry. Cry like the baby that you are." He laughed again. "Look at you, just like the boy. Exactly the same. Do you know whose child you are, Severus? You're your mother's. A mother's boy."

"Leave him out of this – "

"_I TOLD YOU TO SHUT UP!_" Daddy hit Mummy again and she started screaming as blood came out of her nose – 

"Severus!" His eyes snapped open. "What is it?"

"Nothing, I – " He must have fallen asleep in the hospital wing. Thank heavens Cho was the only patient there.

"You're sweating."

"Am I? I'm sorry."

"No, it's alright."

"Listen, I better go. Madame Pomfrey will be here shortly."

"Well… thankyou for coming."

"It was my pleasure." Snape kissed Cho impulsively before quickly exciting the room, wrapping his cloack around himself as he did so. Upon reaching his own room, he ran a hand through his hair and sat down at his desk, hoping to complete some marking before breakfast. No sooner had he done so, however, than a large brown owl flew in through the window. He sighed.

"I knew I'd see you at some point." He snatched the note from the owl's leg and read through the short note:

Remember the hangover potion alright? Keep the next few weeks free. More than your life's worth to miss this one, too. Surprise awaits the loyal ones.

Scowling, Snape set the note alright with his wand. Throwing the burning paper to the ground, he stamped on it and made sure no writing was visible. He then turned to the owl.

"There will be no reply."

*****

Breakfast, as it usually was, was a silent affair for Severus. This morning, however, the silence was tinged with anxiety as he waited for the chance to speak with Dumbledore alone. He glanced up and, seeing Cho's friends staring at him, looked back down, embarrassed. He knew damn well what they were laughing about and preferred not to think about it. There were too many fascinated with his sexuality for his liking.

"Headmaster?"

"What is it, Severus?"

"I received word this morning."

"Then it begins." Dumbledore sighed. "Did he say when?"

"In the next few days. I will be on the alert."

"Very wise. We must proceed with caution… yes, indeed." He turned to look at Snape with his eyes suddenly twinkling. "I presume you slept well last night?" Snape hesitated. He had been stupid not to realise that Dumbledore would know.

"I know it was wrong, I'm sorry."

"There is no shame in love and no reason to fear it, even in your case, Severus. My only concern is one of safety – for yourself, and Miss Chang."

"You mean people might think she's doing this to get good grades?"

"Yes, there is that factor, as well as the question of what would happen to you both if Voldemort or his followers found out about your true intentions." Severus flinched slightly at the name, but attempted to conceal it.

"Then what do you suggest?"

"Discretion. Nobody must know about this, no student, no professor, no ghost. I trust you, Severus. I know that your relations with Miss Chang have nothing but honourable intentions. Something like this however, could prove dangerous… very dangerous. Silence is the key."

"Yes, sir."


End file.
